


Under Water

by HashtagLEH



Series: Little Snippets [4]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Attraction, Besotted Bucky, Human Tony, Little Mermaid Elements, M/M, Merman Bucky, POV Bucky Barnes, Siren Bucky, Sirens, Snippet, mermaid au
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-01
Updated: 2020-03-01
Packaged: 2021-02-28 02:48:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,774
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22976428
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HashtagLEH/pseuds/HashtagLEH
Summary: With a small tug, the human came closer, balanced now on hands and knees at the end of the dock. Bucky continued to hum, feeling his lips curve into a small, victorious smile as he lifted himself higher on the dock and the human leaned in closer, feeling hot breath against his lips.You’ve got it,Bucky hummed, just centimeters from the human’s lips.
Relationships: James "Bucky" Barnes/Tony Stark
Series: Little Snippets [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1486799
Comments: 13
Kudos: 226
Collections: IronSoldier, Supernatural Avengers





	Under Water

**Author's Note:**

> This idea kinda niggled at me and I typed it out in an hour. I have ideas for where I could take this, but right now I don’t have plans to continue it while I have other works in progress. But you know, maybe some day. ;)
> 
> In any case, I hope you all enjoy it.

The first thing he noticed was that the human was _pretty_.

Peering out over the surface of the water, only his eyes peeking out from beneath, Bucky bit his lip at the view of the man sitting on the edge of the dock, feet dangling just above the water, too short to go in all the way.

Bucky had seen many humans in his time. He was a more curious sort, and he couldn’t help the fascination with things that worked on land but not in the water. Inevitably, this led to his curiosity taking him to the surface more often than his sisters. So he’d seen many humans, some of them delicate and pretty, and some of them big and ugly.

This human, though… Bucky unconsciously drifted closer to the dock, appreciating the view. He was prettier than any other human he’d ever seen. His hair was dark, and flew everywhere like it was floating in water. His skin looked smooth and soft and Bucky wanted to lick it. Not to eat him, no, but to make him feel good.

 _Is this what love feels like?_ He pondered, just before the man made eye contact with him before jumping, looking alarmed.

 _Shit, the moon must have caused a reflection,_ Bucky realized, ducking under the water before the thought had fully formed to do so. Merfolks’ eyes were reflective, the membrane allowing them to see better in low-light conditions. If that human connected that there was a predator in the water, he might leave.

And Bucky was. A predator, that is. But he didn’t want to hunt this human or really any other human. It’s not like they had much meat on them to begin with, but Bucky just thought they were fascinating. His sister Becca called them Bucky’s pets.

He stayed beneath the water for what he thought was probably a sufficient amount of time, staring up at the moon through the surface and hoping that the human hadn’t turned and ran. He drifted closer to the dock, remaining under the water, only poking his head out when he was on the other side of the dock, where the human wouldn’t see him unless he turned.

Sticking to the shadows, Bucky breathed easier when he saw that the human hadn’t moved, but was making sounds under his breath while he wrote in some sort of book. He must have decided that he’d imagined the eyes, and Bucky snorted softly under his breath even though he was relieved that he hadn’t scared the human away.

Flicking his tail gently, Bucky moved slowly closer to the man, coming to see his profile and feeling his breath catch at the sight.

The man was even more beautiful up close. Here, he could see the sweep of his eyelashes, the reddened cheeks and the full lips. He could see his slender hands, elegant and sure as they wrote in the book. Bucky was certain that he had never seen a more beautiful being, human or merfolk, and he doubted that he ever would.

 _Mate, mate, mate,_ his blood seemed to sing as he continued to watch the beautiful creature who was so unaware of his presence just meters away. He licked his lips, feeling a deep longing that he could grow legs to meet this man on land, or that this human had instead been a mer at his birth and they could have met under the water.

Suddenly the man’s head shot up, eyes darting around, and Bucky ducked quickly under the water with a small splash, not knowing what had spooked the human but worried that he might have given away his position. He glided quickly through the water, moving to the other side of the dock before carefully lifting his head above the water, leaving everything below his eyes still submerged. His hair clung unpleasantly to his face, as it always did when he surfaced, but Bucky forgot all about that when he realized that the human was staring _right at him_.

“Hello,” the human said, sounding tentative. Bucky allowed his head to rise higher out of the water, but didn’t say anything. Mostly because he felt tongue-tied, but also because he didn’t want to reveal his sharp teeth. It had made humans nervous before, and Bucky didn’t want to scare _this_ human. At least his hair was long enough and heavy enough that it flattened his ear fins against his head.

“Are you alright?” the human went on when it was clear that Bucky wasn’t going to say anything. “It’s just that, it’s pretty late, and the sea isn’t safe at night. How long have you been swimming out here?”

Bucky blinked at that, not letting on that he was confused, even though he was – extraordinarily so. And then it clicked – this human thought that he himself was a human. He was worried for a human’s safety in the sea, not realizing that he was a mer, one of the top predators of the ocean.

He felt something give a twang in his chest at the thought, and was uncertain whether to draw closer to the human or to swim away and hope the human wouldn’t follow.

But… he was _pretty_. And Bucky had always had a hard time resisting pretty things.

Maybe the Scarlet Witch could do something. Maybe she could make this human a mer, and then he could be Bucky’s mate. He would have to find out.

Just then, the moon, previously hidden behind a cloud, peeked out to shine its light across the water. Before Bucky had the chance to do anything, the human startled back, pulling his feet away from the water and scooting further away from the end of the dock.

“Your eyes,” the human stammered, scooting away as Bucky drew closer, “How – they’re _glowing_.”

“Reflecting, actually,” Bucky said without thinking, and then smacked himself mentally for not just playing dumb. He might never see this human again if he got nervous around the water, and he needed him to come again so that he knew where to find him after getting an answer from the Witch. He sighed to himself – he needed to reassure this human, and make him feel safe here. He couldn’t just swim away.

“How – what _are_ you?” the human demanded, getting to his feet and stepping back as Bucky came closer to the dock.

“I’m whatever you want me to be,” Bucky drawled out, forcing maintained eye contact while he lifted himself half out of the water and rested his forearms on the end of the dock, holding himself aloft. His next words came out a gravelly purr. “So what do you want?”

“I…I…” the human stammered, unable to tear away from the power of Bucky’s gaze. He slowly sank back down, onto his knees just a couple of meters away from Bucky.

“Come on,” Bucky said, purr transitioning easily into a hum with a light, lilting melody. The human’s eyes were brown and beautiful, with little gold flecks that Bucky felt caught by just as much as the human was caught in his. “I know you have some idea…”

 _That’s it_ , Bucky congratulated mentally as the human’s eyes became hazy in response to what had now become siren song. He hummed quietly, with no words now, swaying his head a bit as the human scooted closer to him, entranced.

 _Almost there,_ Bucky coaxed, reaching one hand out toward the human. The man was less than a meter away, but Bucky didn’t want to spook him. He would let the human choose to take his hand.

And a moment later, he did, and with a small tug, the human came closer, balanced now on hands and knees at the end of the dock. Bucky continued to hum, feeling his lips curve into a small, victorious smile as he lifted himself higher on the dock and the human leaned in closer, feeling hot breath against his lips.

 _You’ve got it,_ Bucky hummed, just centimeter’s from the human’s lips. Just another moment, and –

“Tony!”

The call shattered the enchantment surrounding them, and Bucky was so startled by it that he reared back, hissing involuntarily. The haziness fled from the human’s eyes, and he looked terrified at the sight of Bucky’s razor sharp teeth on full display, and at the gills flaring out from his head and his neck. Bucky stopped immediately, feeling like the monster that the human must see him as, and dove quickly beneath the water, hoping to scrub the memory of the human’s expression from his mind. He’d never meant to _scare_ the human.

With a powerful flap of his tail, Bucky knifes through the water, toward the cliffs a little ways out. They were shrouded in shadow, and would hide him sufficiently from prying eyes of others. He lifted himself immediately onto a rock so that he was half-sitting, half-leaning against it, looking intently back toward the shore.

The sea was silent and calm for once, so he only had to strain his ears a little bit to be able to hear the human who had called out and startled them so much. 

“...shouldn’t be out this late at night, your father will worry, Tony.”

“Jarvis, we both know what _his_ brand of worry is.”

That was the voice of his human - his _Tony_. It was shakier than it had been earlier, trying to disguise fear, but Bucky still knew it and his blood sang at the sound of it, saying _mine, mine, mine._ He wished he hadn’t been scared at the sight of him, but that could be fixed. At least, he hoped so.

Bucky watched as the two humans walked away from the dock and to the buildings farther away. He watched until he could see them no longer, and then slipped silently back into the water.

Tony hadn’t said anything to the other human - Bucky had forgotten his name; it was unimportant - about seeing him. Nothing to hint at seeing a monster in the water who had been so close to kissing him. Bucky wished the other human hadn’t interrupted - his kiss would have given Tony feelings of security, and it would have created a bond between the two of them that they could always find the other. Now Bucky could only _hope_ that Tony would come back to the dock again when he was there. Maybe then they could be something together.

 _Mates_ , his mind whispered.

But, he reminded himself, he still had to figure out if and what was possible. 

Turning his body, he quickly swam in the direction of the infamous Scarlet Witch. 


End file.
